http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/23.htm
November 23rd, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: The first Handley Page Halifax arrives at No. 35 Sqn. for familiarisation purposes.
London:
Telegram from Churchill to Roosevelt:
...the situation in Spain is deteriorating and ... not far from starvation point. An offer by you to dole out food month by month so long as they keep out of the war might be decisive. ... The occupation by Germany of both sides of the Straits would be a grievous addition to our naval strain. ... With a major campaign developing in the Eastern Mediterranean and need of supply and reinforcement of our armies all round the Cape we could not contemplate any military action on the mainland at or near the Straits. ... Gibraltar will stand a long siege, but once in Morocco the Germans will work South and U-boats and aircraft will soon be operating from Casablanca and Dakar. (Within range of South America).
Southampton:
The city suffers a heavy night raid.
8 Spitfires intercept 23 Italian CR.42 fighters. The Italians lose two aircraft but claim five and two probable, the RAF report no casualties or damage to their aircraft. (173) (Gordon Angus MacKinlay)
Submarine HNLMS O-26 launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
VICHY FRANCE: Admiral William Leahy is appointed US Ambassador to the Vichy government.
GERMANY: Berlin:
The Romanian Premier, Ion Antonescu, agrees to join the Tripartite Pact, paving the way for German intervention in Greece.
U-77 launched.
U-70 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
AUSTRIA: In Vienna, Romanian officials sign the protocol of adherence to the Axis Tripartite Pact. (Jack McKillop)
GREECE: CIC of the Greek Army Papagos meets with General Tsolakogolu, head of the Greek Army III corps which has taken Koritsa. Papagos fears that the troops are tired and need rest. Tsolakogolu insists that the advance continue and recommends that a select group of Greek units be dispatched from those who have taken Koritsa to chase the Italians north. Among this specially chosen group are several heavy artillery regiments; one of which is the unit in which Dimitry Statharos is serving in. He recalls “We never entered the centre of Koritsa, instead we were suddenly ordered to turn off the road and head west and then north around the city, we were to continue the advance”. (Steven Statharos)
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: 20th Pursuit Squadron arrives in the Philippines from Hamilton AAF, the first USAAC pursuit unit added to the Department since 1919. (Marc Small)
CANADA:
Minesweeper HMCS Burlington launched Toronto, Ontario.
Corvette HMCS Barrie launched Collingwood, Ontario. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Ericsson and Edison launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-100 sank SS Bradfyne, Bussum, Justina, Leise Maersk, Ootmarsum and damaged beyond repair SS Bruse in Convoy SC-11.
The merchant vessel Salonica, in convoy SC-11 bound for Newcastle was torpedoed by U-100 position 55 16N 12 14W. 2 crew killed in the engine room, one lifeboat overturned putting 16 men into the very rough sea. 7 men were rescued by sloop HMS Enchantress. Several more by destroyer HMCS Skeena.
U-123 sank SS Anten, King Idwal, Oakcrest and Tymeric in Convoy OB-22. After attacking convoy OB-244, U-123 had an underwater collision with a piece of the wreckage and suffered heavy damage. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 450 November 23, 1940
100 miles off the North coast of Ireland, U-100 sinks 6 merchant ships in convoy SC-11 between midnight and 8 AM and then another from the same convoy at 9 PM (24,601 tons of shipping, 119 merchant seamen killed). 78 survivors are rescued by convoy escorts, sloop HMS Enchantress and destroyers HMCS Skeena & HMCS Ottawa. 4 men float in a lifeboat for 2 days until picked up by a Norwegian steamer and landed at Belfast. During the attack, U-100 is depth charged by a destroyer but escapes with minor damage. http://www.uboat.net/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=SC-11
250 miles West of Ireland, U-123 sinks 4 merchant ships in convoy OB-244 between 4.16 and 9.14 AM (20,885 tons of shipping, 119 sailors killed). 65 survivors are rescued by convoy escort sloop HMS Sandwich and landed at Liverpool on November 27. 6 other survivors make land on Barra Island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. U-123 collides with submerged wreckage from one of its victims, damaging the periscope and conning tower and forcing U-123 to return to Lorient, France. http://www.uboat.net/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=OB-244
Germany continues to shore up support in the Balkans, to protect vital Romanian oil supplies and for offensives against Greece and USSR. Romania joins the Axis, seeking protection against the Soviet Union which has already taken Bessarabia. In Berlin, Romania’s fascist leader Ion Antonescu signs the Tripartite Pact.
Luftwaffe bombs the docks at Southampton overnight, damaging British troopship Llandovery Castle and paddle minesweeper Duchess Of Cornwall.